Moving forward, comments on Instagram will be placed in threads, making the whole commenting situation on the photo and video-sharing service so much more lovely. For example, if you’re commenting a friend on Kim K’s latest post, all of your comments will be threaded together, allowing for the full context of your conversation to be … Continued

Moving forward, comments on Instagram will be placed in threads, making the whole commenting situation on the photo and video-sharing service so much more lovely.

For example, if you’re commenting a friend on Kim K’s latest post, all of your comments will be threaded together, allowing for the full context of your conversation to be previewed. If you know how the current comment system is, which is where each comment is posted as a new comment to the bottom of the single thread, this new implementation is greatly appreciated.

Instagram is rolling out the ability to send video and photo replies to Stories this week, making the experience of Stories a bit more than just a one way street. For example, if you’re watching a friend’s Story and want to reply to something in particular, you can tap the camera button, shoot a reply, … Continued

Instagram is rolling out the ability to send video and photo replies to Stories this week, making the experience of Stories a bit more than just a one way street. For example, if you’re watching a friend’s Story and want to reply to something in particular, you can tap the camera button, shoot a reply, then get back to finishing the Story.

When you’re making your reply, you can make a photo, video or Boomerang, then access all of the same editing tools as you’re used to. It’s a complete and fully editable replying option.

If you’re the one who sent the Story and someone replied to it, you can find the messages inside of the Direct Inbox from the main screen in the app.

Here’s the rundown straight from Instagram.

To reply to a story, simply tap the camera button while watching a story.

Capture a photo, video, or boomerang and add any creative tools you’d like. Once you hit “Send” you can continue watching stories.

Replies to your story appear in your Direct inbox as always. Photo and video replies are highlighted in blue and disappear once you view them.

In an effort to help curb offensive and spam comments, Instagram will begin to utilize machine learning and updated filters. With the use of these, whenever an offensive or spam comment is made, it goes straight to purgatory, never to be seen by other users. If you’re someone who doesn’t mind a good ribbing or … Continued

In an effort to help curb offensive and spam comments, Instagram will begin to utilize machine learning and updated filters. With the use of these, whenever an offensive or spam comment is made, it goes straight to purgatory, never to be seen by other users.

If you’re someone who doesn’t mind a good ribbing or may want to view the hate speech, there is an on/off switch in the settings menu. Simply toggle the “Hide Offensive Comments” switch.

As for spam, which is rampant on the service, machine learning will be doing the heavy lifting. “We believe that using machine learning to build tools to safeguard self-expression is an important step in fostering more inclusive, kinder communities,” Instagram wrote in a blog post.

These changes are rolling out right now across the Instagram platform.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2017/06/29/instagram-auto-blocking-comments/feed/21You Can Now Send a Replay of Your Live Video to Instagram Storieshttp://www.droid-life.com/2017/06/20/instagram-live-replay/
http://www.droid-life.com/2017/06/20/instagram-live-replay/#commentsTue, 20 Jun 2017 19:52:18 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=202254

Instagram announced this morning that it has 250 million daily users on Stories. That’s an impressive number. To go along with that, with the latest update to the Android and iOS app, you can now share your finished live video to Stories for 24 hours, a function that hasn’t been available until now. To put … Continued

Instagram announced this morning that it has 250 million daily users on Stories. That’s an impressive number. To go along with that, with the latest update to the Android and iOS app, you can now share your finished live video to Stories for 24 hours, a function that hasn’t been available until now.

To put this simply, if you’ve just wrapped up a live video where you interacted with friends and had a blast, you can immediately share that live video to Stories, allowing anyone and everyone to watch it if they missed it live.

As Instagram describes, “When your broadcast has ended, you’ll be able to tap ‘Share’ at the bottom of the screen to add your replay to Instagram Stories for 24 hours. You can also tap the toggle and choose ‘Discard,’ and your live video will disappear from the app as usual.”

If this functionality sounds fun to you, follow the Google Play link below.

The Archive feature that first popped up for select Instagram users a few weeks ago is now rolling out to all users, according to the latest announcement from the company. With Archive, users can essentially hide whatever media they want from their profile, such as old photos or videos. Archiving does not delete the content, … Continued

The Archive feature that first popped up for select Instagram users a few weeks ago is now rolling out to all users, according to the latest announcement from the company.

With Archive, users can essentially hide whatever media they want from their profile, such as old photos or videos. Archiving does not delete the content, though. Instead, it simply hides it, while still preserving the “Like” count and comments.

To archive media, select a photo or video, then press on the three dot button. The top option should be Archive. Once archived, you can access them and reinstate the media by pressing the Clock icon on your profile and hitting “Show on Profile.”

If you think Archive would be a helpful feature for your profile, have at it.

Two new Explore categories are being added into Instagram: Location Stories and Hashtag Stories. With these, users can discover content (photos and videos) based on places or things of interest, all from the same Explore tab. Instagram has been bulking up the Explore tab if you have not noticed lately, with this move continuing that trend. … Continued

Two new Explore categories are being added into Instagram: Location Stories and Hashtag Stories. With these, users can discover content (photos and videos) based on places or things of interest, all from the same Explore tab.

Instagram has been bulking up the Explore tab if you have not noticed lately, with this move continuing that trend. Along with all of the videos and popular Stories you’ll find already, Location Stories and Hashtag Stories are based solely on locations you want to see or things you view often. For example, if you search for New York City, you’ll find a story based solely on photos and videos of New York City. If you’re into Lacrosse, you can search that hashtag and potentially find a story based on that.

Possibly exciting for some, there’s a chance your photos and videos can be added to a larger story, too. If you use hashtags and location tags, and Instagram happens to need that content, your media can be added for the entire Instagram community to view it. Just to note, though, you’ll need a public profile.

According to Instagram, “Location stories on Explore are available on iOS and Android as part of Instagram version 10.22 in the Apple App Store and Google Play. Hashtag stories will be rolling out over the coming weeks.”

Just like you’d find on other picture sharing services these days, Instagram now offers Face Filters. With these, you can have some fun with silly masks or filters, then share them with friends and family. I could go on like every other tech journo about how Instagram straight snatched this feature from Snapchat, but I … Continued

Just like you’d find on other picture sharing services these days, Instagram now offers Face Filters. With these, you can have some fun with silly masks or filters, then share them with friends and family.

I could go on like every other tech journo about how Instagram straight snatched this feature from Snapchat, but I don’t think anyone really cares. You know who might care, though? The users. Instagram users will surely take complete advantage of the addition of face filters.

To get started, make sure you have the latest version of the Instagram app, then tap the new face icon in the bottom right corner when in the camera section of the app.

During Facebook’s F8 conference yesterday, the company shared a new feature for Instagram, it’s still-growing-like-crazy image sharing platform, that could allow its continued growth into additional areas of the world, specifically those without proper data connections. Instagram on Android is getting (already has?) an offline mode. An Instagram engineer explained that most of its offline … Continued

During Facebook’s F8 conference yesterday, the company shared a new feature for Instagram, it’s still-growing-like-crazy image sharing platform, that could allow its continued growth into additional areas of the world, specifically those without proper data connections. Instagram on Android is getting (already has?) an offline mode.

An Instagram engineer explained that most of its offline functionality is actually already available on Android, but the goal is to allow users to see content in the Instagram feed that has previously loaded, leave comments, like items, save media, and even unfollow people. While none of that would happen in real-time without a connection, it certainly will once the person’s device connects to data again.

Sure, most of the people that visit this site don’t necessarily care about an Instagram offline mode, but this is huge globally for those areas that lack our kinds of connectivity. Or you know, maybe you’ll go camping one day and need to get in some fresh, fresh likes.

When Instagram first introduced “Saved Posts” to their apps in December, they didn’t include any sort of way to organize those saved items. Who knows why, but today that changes. Saved Posts can be categorized in a way you should have been able to from day 1. Instagram is calling them “Collections” and they work … Continued

When Instagram first introduced “Saved Posts” to their apps in December, they didn’t include any sort of way to organize those saved items. Who knows why, but today that changes. Saved Posts can be categorized in a way you should have been able to from day 1.

Instagram is calling them “Collections” and they work like you would expect. When you save a new post, you’ll be able to decide if you want it in a new collection or one that already exists. You can also create collections from existing posts.

All of this will happen within the week in v10.16 of the app. Once live, your saved page will have two columns, one for “All” saved posts and another called “Collections.” Cool.

]]>http://www.droid-life.com/2017/04/17/instagram-saved-posts-collections/feed/5200 Million People Use Instagram Stories Every Day, Have Some New Stickers to Celebratehttp://www.droid-life.com/2017/04/13/200-million-people-use-instagram-stories-every-day-new-stickers-celebrate/
http://www.droid-life.com/2017/04/13/200-million-people-use-instagram-stories-every-day-new-stickers-celebrate/#commentsThu, 13 Apr 2017 15:28:46 +0000http://www.droid-life.com/?p=199244

Instagram announced today that 200 million people now use their Stories feature, which seems like a lot. Snapchat clocked in at around 161 million a few months back, so I’d say Instagram’s version of Snapchat is doing quite well. To celebrate those usage numbers, Instagram is giving the world new sticker tools to help you … Continued

Instagram announced today that 200 million people now use their Stories feature, which seems like a lot. Snapchat clocked in at around 161 million a few months back, so I’d say Instagram’s version of Snapchat is doing quite well. To celebrate those usage numbers, Instagram is giving the world new sticker tools to help you be the creative god you always wanted to be.

One of the new sticker types is a selfie sticker. Good lord, yes, that’s what it’s called. It works by letting you snap a mini-selfie that can be pinned anywhere, including within a video. You can see a version of a mini-selfie in the image above. RIP, world.

Other new sticker options include geostickers that are specific to the city you happen to be in at the moment. That could mean a hot dog while in Chicago, for example.

Finally, the stickers section now has a recents area, so that you can easily find your most-used.

Instagram wants you to have more “fun” with “visual conversations” through its Direct feature, so today it’s adding disappearing photos and videos to the threads you have with friends. That means you’ll now be able to send one-timers that will show within the chats you already have going, until they are viewed and then gone. … Continued

Instagram wants you to have more “fun” with “visual conversations” through its Direct feature, so today it’s adding disappearing photos and videos to the threads you have with friends. That means you’ll now be able to send one-timers that will show within the chats you already have going, until they are viewed and then gone.

To access this new feature, you’ll simply swipe left into Direct, jump into conversations, and tap on the new blue camera icon to send off disappearing photos or videos. When you receive disappearing photos or videos, you’ll see them highlighted in blue within a thread. Senders will see notifications as they are viewed and also should you attempt to screenshot them.

And that’s pretty much it. The new disappearing fun is a part of v10.16 which is live now.

Instagram, like Twitter, is all about fostering a kinder, safer community. That means new tools or tweaks to the photo sharing service that will allow for better protection for your account and also the eyes of those not wanting to see something offensive. In the near future (“soon”), Instagram will start to blur content marked as … Continued

Instagram, like Twitter, is all about fostering a kinder, safer community. That means new tools or tweaks to the photo sharing service that will allow for better protection for your account and also the eyes of those not wanting to see something offensive.

In the near future (“soon”), Instagram will start to blur content marked as sensitive. Why would it be blurred in the first place? Because someone flagged it as being sensitive and person from Instagram confirmed that it may not be suitable for everyone. This doesn’t mean it violates any Instagram terms, it just means that not everyone will appreciate the substance. To access it, you’ll simply need to tap on it.

As for account protection, Instagram has now fully rolled out 2-factor authentication. You should use this if you aren’t already. With 2-factor authentication, Instagram will require a code every time you login that is sent to you via SMS. It’s an extra layer of security that makes it much more difficult for someone to access your accounts. You can find the setting for it in your profile settings.

Before today, when a user went live on Instagram and then the video ended, there was no way to save that video onto your phone’s storage. After today’s update, that changes. With the latest update to the app, any time you go live on the service, at the end of the broadcast you will see … Continued

Before today, when a user went live on Instagram and then the video ended, there was no way to save that video onto your phone’s storage. After today’s update, that changes.

With the latest update to the app, any time you go live on the service, at the end of the broadcast you will see a download button. When that button is pressed, your broadcast video will be saved to your device’s memory. The save will not include comments, likes, or which people watched it. Essentially, it’s just a way for you to save the video if something interesting happened.

Inside version 10.9 for Android and iOS devices, Instagram is ready to allow regular users, and not just paying advertisers, to bunch multiple photos and videos into a single post. Just as we reported on February 1, this change is essential for those who have multiple photos or videos they want to share, but don’t want … Continued

Inside version 10.9 for Android and iOS devices, Instagram is ready to allow regular users, and not just paying advertisers, to bunch multiple photos and videos into a single post.

Just as we reported on February 1, this change is essential for those who have multiple photos or videos they want to share, but don’t want to spam your followers’ timeline. As you scroll through your gallery, you’ll notice a new icon that indicates a multi-photo (or video) option. Once you have the photos picked out, make sure they’re properly filtered, then post away. It’s simple and effective.

When uploading to your feed, you’ll see a new icon to select multiple photos and videos. You can tap and hold to change the order, apply a filter to everything at once or edit one by one. These posts have a single caption and are square-only for now. On your profile grid, you’ll notice the first photo or video of your post has a little icon, which means there’s more to see.

As Instagram states, your photos will be limited to a square view, for now. I have been loving the portrait-style photos, so hopefully that change is implemented somewhat soon.

Somewhat hidden inside version 10.7.0, which is trickling out to users on Android, Instagram appears to be testing the ability to showcase multiple photos in a single post. You have probably seen this feature enabled for advertisers on your timeline, but if testing goes well, it seems that normal folk will be able to use it, … Continued

Somewhat hidden inside version 10.7.0, which is trickling out to users on Android, Instagram appears to be testing the ability to showcase multiple photos in a single post. You have probably seen this feature enabled for advertisers on your timeline, but if testing goes well, it seems that normal folk will be able to use it, too.

To give you the basic rundown, once this feature works properly, users can select up to 10 photos from their galley, slap on filters to each photo they choose, then upload the photos as an album to your timeline. From your followers’ perspective, they will see the album and can then slide through the various shots, liking photos as they go.

Currently, while we can select photos to place into an album, the photos will not post to the timeline. The feature is simply not working in its current state, but that’s probably why it’s being sent out as a test and not being advertised by the good folks at Instagram.

Once the feature is announced and made totes official, we will update you. In the meantime, check to see if your IG app needs an update and give it a whirl. Maybe you will have more luck then us.